


Gifts

by ladybugducoeur (Dawn_Blossom)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Identity Reveal, It's so cliche though, but I mean do you really care? it's fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-09 01:23:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5520218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dawn_Blossom/pseuds/ladybugducoeur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chat Noir and Ladybug exchange gifts like normal friends. It isn't until they return to school that it starts to mean more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gifts

**Author's Note:**

> What? I'm writing ANOTHER Christmas fic? Well, hey, look, I didn't explicitly say Christmas in this one. Maybe it's another holiday. Maybe it's their anniversary. Maybe they just decided to pick a day to give each other birthday presents since they don't actually know when each other's birthday is. It could be a lot of things.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you like this one.
> 
> (If you want to follow me on tumblr, my ML blog is [ladybugducoeur.tumblr.com](http://ladybugducoeur.tumblr.com))

She wasn’t sure it was the best decision to make a gift for Chat Noir. She had to get him something, of course; he was her partner and no gift could ever express exactly how much he meant to her. But, well, the last time she had made a scarf for someone she had been doing it for Adrien, and she definitely did not want to start comparing her feelings for Chat with the feelings she had held (still held! certainly still held! Adrien was sweet and perfect in ways that Chat Noir couldn’t beat) for her crush. Still, she wanted to give her partner in crimefighting something meaningful, something heartfelt. Thus, there she was, putting the finishing touches on a very Chat Noir-themed scarf.

She was very pleased with it, actually. It was made from soft, black material. On each end, she had stitched cat paw prints in a green that she thought matched his eyes perfectly.

She hoped he would like it. She knew he would appreciate it, but that wasn’t quite the same thing. Sure, he would adore anything she gave him because it was from her, but would he actually like it for what it was? She did want him to. She thought he would, but… It was only now that she had to actually _give_ it to him that she doubted herself.

In the end, it was Marinette’s insecurity rather than Ladybug’s confidence that lead her to flat-out lie to her partner when they met up on top of a building during the night.

“I found this while I was out shopping,” she told him, handing over the gift. “There was a ‘Ladybug and Chat Noir’ display.” Those had been popping up lately. Plenty of artists had been inspired by the Parisian superheroes; it was a very believable lie, if you asked her.

She realized that her story made her gift sound very impersonal. But then, perhaps it was for the best?

“My lady,” Chat Noir responded, looking at his present almost reverently. “Thank you. I’m so happy to know you were thinking of me.” He held the scarf up to his face, nuzzling against it in a very catlike manner.

“I’m glad you like it,” she said with a laugh.

He paused, glanced at her face, and broke out in a grin. “Don’t forget to open your present,” he said excitedly, and she laughed again.

As she opened the gift, though, her face turned to surprise. She hadn’t been sure what to suspect, but she had thought Chat Noir would have been more into ladybug and cat puns, not… jewelry.

Resting in her hands was a black bracelet. Its center held a black stone, surrounded on each side by two smaller red stones. It suited her Ladybug attire, and yet it didn’t scream “ladybug” so loudly that she couldn’t wear it as Marinette.

“Wow,” she breathed without thinking. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. “Thanks, Chat. It’s beautiful. I can actually use this,” she told him appreciatively.

He beamed at her, and the sight was so adorable that she almost wished Alya was there to document it on the Ladyblog ( _almost_ being the key word, of course; she didn’t actually want cameras meddling in what should be a private affair).

“You like it, then? It was hard finding something that fit your PURR-sonality.”

And there was the pun. She rolled her eyes. “Yes, kitty, I’ll treasure it forever,” she said only partly in sarcasm as she put the bracelet on her wrist.

Chat Noir wore a goofy smile on his face that he didn’t bother to hide with his new scarf.

“I’ll treasure mine forever, too.”

* * *

It wasn’t until several weeks had passed and Marinette had to return to school that she had to deal with the repercussions of her gift-giving actions as Ladybug. Truthfully, she hadn’t expected any repercussions at all; why would she? Sure, she had thought of the possibility that she could pass a boy wearing her scarf in public, but with only a glance there would be no way to tell the details of the scarf, so she felt sure that she would never accidentally reveal the identity of Chat Noir.

She had not planned for the possibility of seeing Adrien Agreste walk in with what was without a doubt the scarf Ladybug had given Chat Noir.

 

She wasn’t really sure, at first. But then she had overheard him and Nino talking, and how could it be a coincidence?

“Dude, nice scarf! Is this one from your father, too?” Nino asked.

“Isn’t it wonderful? My, uh, friend gave it to me. She said she saw a display full of Ladybug and Chat Noir-inspired items and thought of me,” he said, a dreamy look breaking over his face for a moment before his schooled his features back into a neutral form.

“But wouldn’t you have liked Ladybug stuff better?”

Adrien flushed slightly. “Well, I love Ladybug, but… Between us, the Ladybug things look better on her,” he admitted.

She couldn’t deny the obvious to herself, and she was totally freaking out.

A small part of her was flattered that he had chosen to wear the supposedly impersonal scarf that Ladybug had given him over the blue scarf that she had also made but that he thought came from his father. That part of her was, however, more or less drowned out by her never ending internal screaming.

 _Chat Noir_ was _Adrien_ and _what was she supposed to do oh GOD_

Maybe she was mistaken. That had to be it. If she could just look closer at the stitching, she could tell for sure.

“U-Um, hey Adrien… I was, um, your scarf is, um, looking scarf – I mean nice! – and I, um, I…”

Okay, this wasn’t going so well. She took a deep breath. She needed to put her mind at rest. She didn’t know what she was going to say if she was right, if her crush and her not-crush-now-but-maybe-in-another-world partner were one and the same, but she _needed_ to know.

“Can I look at it? To see the stitching? I, uh, want to re-replicate it…” she managed to get out.

Adrien smiled at her, and her face felt so fire-hot that she was surprised she hadn’t set off a smoke alarm.

“Sure, Marinette. Your designs are really good. I’m sure you could make something like this with no problem.”

She tried very, very hard not to do something embarrassing, like squeak, or fall backwards, or die. She succeeded, but just barely.

“Oh… Kay… Thanks…” she managed to spit out. She extended her hand to grab the scarf, and Adrien’s eyes widened. 

Oh. Right. She was wearing the bracelet that Chat Noir had given Ladybug. Oops, she hadn’t thought about that.

If the flash of recognition in his eyes wasn’t enough of a giveaway, the green paw prints (that did match his eyes beautifully) surely were. She rubbed her thumb over the dark material slowly before handing it back to him.

“It’s very nice. It looks homemade.” She said… admitted… quietly. Oh God, what was she doing?

Adrien held the scarf in his hand but made no move to do anything with it. He sat, frozen, staring at her as if he was seeing a masterpiece for the first time. She looked away, angry at the flush making its home on her face again.

“I… Sh-She… She said she bought it… Are you sure…?”

Marinette had never heard Adrien stutter in her life, and it was incredible that he was doing it because of her… or maybe because of Ladybug… who was her… She was confused.

“I’m…” She sighed, unable to believe what she was about to say. “PAW-sitive.”

Adrien’s face lit up like the sky at dawn, but a moment later he looked like _he_ wanted to faint.

The two of them might have spontaneously combusted had the teacher not decided to begin class at that moment.

“Girl, what was that about?” Alya whispered to her.

“I… don’t know,” she replied, and it was only a little bit of a lie.

* * *

Marinette tried to slip out as soon as class was over, but that plan failed.

“M-Marinette, wait, please,” Adrien called to her.

If he hadn’t stuttered her name, she might have been able to ignore it. But he had, and it was everything she had ever dreamed of.

She shot a glance at Alya, who grinned and gave her a thumbs up as she dragged Nino out of the class with her.

When it was just the two of them in the classroom, Marinette turned around.

“M-Marinette, hi,” Adrien said, and she was still amazed that he was the inarticulate one for once.

“H-Hi,” she replied. Okay, so she wasn’t being particularly articulate, either.

“So, uh, that’s a really nice bracelet you have,” he said with blatantly false nonchalance.

She looked down at her wrist. 

“Yeah, it really is.”

“Yeah,” he laughed nervously. “Uh, where’d you get it?” he asked, as if he were merely curious.

Marinette sighed. She didn’t like this one bit.

“Probably the same place you got your scarf,” she said.

“My lady,” Adrien whispered. 

She closed her eyes.

“Chat,” she responded. 

She heard a breath escape him. She resolved herself to open her eyes.

He had moved closer to her, yet there was still a distance between them.

“Are you disappointed,” he asked quietly.

“W-What?” 

“Are you disappointed? With who I am. I know I don’t seem like much of a hero like this,” he said, his posture slumping slightly.

What Marinette wanted to say was along the lines of “no Adrien you’re literally the most perfect person in the universe,” but what she actually said was “what?”

He opened his mouth to speak again, but she hurriedly cut him off.

“No, I mean, why would I be disappointed? Adrien, you’ve always been my- uh, a wonderful person!” she insisted. Saying that he’d always been her hero was probably too much, even she knew.

“You’re so kind and smart. You’re always helpful and encouraging. Only a fool would ever be disappointed by you.”

“Marinette…”

When he said her name, she felt like a bucket of ice water had fallen on her head. Of course she wasn’t disappointed with _his_ identity, but he was probably disappointed with _hers_.

“I’m sorry,” she told him. “I’m sorry you had to see me like this. That Ladybug isn’t as great as you thought. I’m sorry.”

Now Adrien was the one looking confused.

“What? Marinette, why would you apologize? You’re perfect. You’re so talented, and you always stand up for what’s right. You take charge and everyone knows they can count on you. I knew that even before I found out you’re Ladybug. The only thing I couldn’t figure out was… why you seemed to hate me so much?”

Marinette, who had been blushing at the praise (“You’re perfect” he said. He thought she was perfect!) flinched as he finished his words.

“I never hated you! I could never hate you! What made you think that I did?”

Adrien ruffled his hair in embarrassment. “Well, you know, you were always trying to get away from me. You would only speak to me if I approached you first, and even then you would only say a few words. I thought maybe you didn’t like me because I’m friends with Chloe, but you were always nice enough to Sabrina, so then I thought that maybe I said something to offend you, but I could never figure out what it was,” he explained, to Marinette’s growing horror.

“No! That’s not it! Just the opposite, actually!” she rushed to assure him. She looked down again, flushing. She traced the stones on her bracelet and tried to speak normally.

“Adrien Agreste was the reason Ladybug never accepted Chat Noir’s advances,” she admitted, her voice wavering only a little.

Adrien looked confused for a moment, but she could see the moment the realization hit him.

“Oh. _Oh_.” He gave her a hesitant smile. “Really?”

“Really.” She smiled back. “But I don’t think it’s going to be a big problem anymore.”

“I want nothing more than to spend my life beside you, my lady,” he said warmly. He moved to kiss her hand hesitantly, and she let him.

“I trust you, kitty,” she told him.

An idea entered her head, and she leaned forward as if to impart a secret.

“You know, Ladybug forgot to give you something else when she gave you your scarf,” she said, steeling her Ladybug nerves. 

“She did?” Adrien, her lovely Adrien who was also her brave Chat Noir, wore the most confused expression on his face.

“Yes. Something important. Here, let me give it to you,”

Rising on her toes, she pressed a kiss to his cheek. Blushing heavily, she brushed past him into the hallway, covering a grin with her hands.

Inside the empty classroom, Adrien held a hand to his cheek and tried to remember how to breathe.

**Author's Note:**

> *Some time later*
> 
> "Chat, why are you wearing that dumb scarf in the middle of an akuma battle?"
> 
> "It's not dumb, my lady! You made it!"
> 
> *Chat gets sucked up in a jet engine created by the akuma a la The Incredibles* (don't worry Ladybug saves him)
> 
> Chat Noir was never allowed to wear loose clothing in battle again.


End file.
